Because the only players that I might board it in against also have answers for Assemble. Those being the Esper Control and Jund Midrange players who also board in Curse of Death's Hold.
If they kill the Enchantment itself, it didn't really matter what I played, but I'd rather not have 2-3 of my win cons shut down by one card (at least until I draw a Sphere/Ring).
I will probably switch one Curse for an Assemble before tomorrow, though. I've loved Assemble since they spoiled it.
Because the only players that I might board it in against also have answers for Assemble. Those being the Esper Control and Jund Midrange players who also board in Curse of Death's Hold.
If they kill the Enchantment itself, it didn't really matter what I played, but I'd rather not have 2-3 of my win cons shut down by one card (at least until I draw a Sphere/Ring).
I will probably switch one Curse for an Assemble before tomorrow, though. I've loved Assemble since they spoiled it.
Yeah, if you feel a deaths hold coming just wait two turns, cast assemble on 7 mana then counter deaths hold? remember you're playing control not aggro or midrange. If you fear an answer or threat, just dont play the card until you have the means to protect it. With the amount of removal and boardwipes we have thats exactly what you want in games 2 and 3, if not 1.
Fair point. I haven't played a control deck since last standard, and even then it's been longer since I've played one with counters.
Suppose I were to swap it out. What should replace it? An Assemble and what? I'd do a Memory Adept, but I don't have another one just yet.
you could always go with another board wipe or sphinx's rev or something like that. maybe a 4th snapcaster? Id just cut it for more consistency with a spell that you always find yourself looking for. For me, thats supreme verdict because i want it on turn 4 every game, and sometimes more than 1.
So, I did a PTQ in my area today. I used the same list from my most recent post (only difference was that I had a Rewind in the place of one of the Warleader's Helixes). Considering it was my first PTQ, I did relatively well, though I did fall off towards the end. I ended up 4-3 before I dropped to draft. Here's some match overviews.
2-1 BWR Sire Midrange
Game one, we play some spells, but pretty much the only relevant thing was that he played 3 Sire of Insanities in a row, which pretty much won him the game. I almost came back, miracling Entreat for 5 angels, but he topdecked Bonfire to kill me before I could finish him off. Side out Dispel, side in Counterflux (mainboard is already really geared against midrange).
Game 2, miracled Entreat for 3 angels and had countermagic.
Game three was crazy. Eventually, I hardcast Entreat for 2 angels and beat him down with an angel before finishing him off with Warleader's Helix.
2-1 GR aggro
Game one, he crushes me. I don't think I played a relevant spell that entire 3 minutes. Side in 1x Dispel, 1x Terminus, 1x Aetherize, 2x Augur of Bolas. Side out 1x Rewind, 1x Dissipate, and my three planeswalkers.
Game two, he mana floods, which gives me plenty of time to stabilize after he gets me to 4.
Game three, he consistently topdecks his outs one turn too late after he gets me to 2. I stabilize and win on the back of Warleader's Helix and Aetherling.
2-0 Jund
Game 1, I counter basically all his relevant spells, I play Aetherling and I won.
Side out Dispel for Counterflux.
Game 2, pretty much game one except I use an Entreat for 4 to win.
1-2 4-Color Rites
Due to a technical issue, I got paired down and didn't notice until after the match.
Game 1, he got stuck on 3 lands. I play Tamiyo, tap down his relevant creatures, ult tamiyo with Rewind and Sphinx's Rev in hand. Side in 2x Purify the Grave, 1x Tormod's Crypt. Side out Dispel and Jace.
Game 2, I misplay and allow him to stick Sire of Insanity.
Game 3, I mull into a one lander, but I had Tormod's Crypt which stopped his early shenanigans. I was almost able to pull back into the game but he was able to play Angel of Serenity to kill my angel blockers and finish me off.
2-0 UWR Control
I got to play the mirror.^_^
Game one, my mainboard Dispel allowed me to resolve a Sphinx's rev for 3, which then allowed me to play Aetherling with protective mana up. Side in extra Dispel and Counterflux and 2x Pithing Needle in case he had Aetherling (he had played a Jace game one so I knew I had other targets I could hit if necessary). Side out Rapid Hybradization and my Verdicts.
Game 2, I rev for 4 and he didn't have a counterspell. I draw Aetherling + Dispel. gg.
0-2 4-Color Rites
Game 1, I misplay by playing an Aetherling with only two mana up. he plays a second boros Reckoner and casts Blasphemous Act to kill me. Side out Dispel, and Jace Side in Counterflux and Purify he Grave.
Game 2, I don't draw any counter magic, so when he played the B Act, I lost.
1-2 Naya Blitz
Game one, I keep a soft hand, and he killed me before I could properly react. Side in Detention Spheres, Aetherize, Terminus, and Augurs. Side out Dissipate, Dispel, Rewind, and planeswalkers.
Game 2, I almost misplayed out of this game, but I eventually stabilize behing Warleader's Helix and Sphinx's Rev.
Game 3, I almost stabilized, but I ws short on mana for the entire game while he had a Thalia on board. Eventually, I misplayed which allowed him to get me down to two. I didn't draw an out so I lost.
Overall, the deck did really well. Towards the end I think a lot of the losses were due to misplays. But, so it goes.
I like this color combination. The version I tried out and built opted Reckoner with Harvest Pyre and Blasphemous Act kills. Someone said Helix? I ran Boros Charms. I could pull off the Infinite Life trick actually (w/ Azorius, Boros Charm, and Reckoner) It could finish with the Pyre trick...or Searing Spear, Boros Charm, Snapcaster, Boros Charm. knockouts in no time. But the colors are always very strong in just plain keeping everything they do, absolutely irrelevant.
They cant keep a creature on the board and its suddenly lategame with your last cards in hand being Sphinx's. Thats another thing. My deck was heavy with 3 Verdict and 1 Blasphemous Act, with 4 Searing Spear, 2 Detention Sphere...you did not keep stuff. 3 Boros Charm. Eff your planeswalkers.
Just imagine scenarios where you swing with Reckoner, they block with something big (like an Advent Wurm token) and you Boros Charm making him Indestructable. Throw the five in his face. End of his turn Harvest Pyre your Indestructable Super-Reckoner and put, what, 12-13 more to his face.
I like this color combination. The version I tried out and built opted Reckoner with Harvest Pyre and Blasphemous Act kills. Someone said Helix? I ran Boros Charms. I could pull off the Infinite Life trick actually (w/ Azorius, Boros Charm, and Reckoner) It could finish with the Pyre trick...or Searing Spear, Boros Charm, Snapcaster, Boros Charm. knockouts in no time. But the colors are always very strong in just plain keeping everything they do, absolutely irrelevant.
They cant keep a creature on the board and its suddenly lategame with your last cards in hand being Sphinx's. Thats another thing. My deck was heavy with 3 Verdict and 1 Blasphemous Act, with 4 Searing Spear, 2 Detention Sphere...you did not keep stuff. 3 Boros Charm. Eff your planeswalkers.
Just imagine scenarios where you swing with Reckoner, they block with something big (like an Advent Wurm token) and you Boros Charm making him Indestructable. Throw the five in his face. End of his turn Harvest Pyre your Indestructable Super-Reckoner and put, what, 12-13 more to his face.
That sounds like an interesting combo of UWR midrange and the aristocrats with the combos it has. A little different than the draw-go strategies that the players piloting this deck type to big finishes have been trying, but it sounds interesting for sure
dont play boros reckoner hes too midrangey. on t3 ud rather just counter or remove their threat most times. id add jace and 1 more land and maybe another aetherling
I've been playing a lot of this deck online (a slightly edited version of the SCG open winner's list). However, I honestly can't tell how good it is or how good I am with it. I very rarely outright lose any games (in 6 DEs I think I can only remember three definitive losses, which was 4 color rean (I was flooded tho), Junk Aristocrats (which could be a match up that's easily improved) and Gerry-T monored Blitz). However, I've not done better than 2/2 in any DE. A few instances were silly losses to misclicks (Aetherling has a lot of boxes that can be clicked on lol) but at least 75% of my losses were to time outs, in games I was clearly winning. I play very slowly with this deck, which is also a slow deck to begin with. Modo just simply doesn't give me enough time to win with the deck.
This is a problem though because I have to take this deck to the PTQ in July (potentially) and I simply can't decide whether my results are good enough. Anyone else have this problem?
Game 1
Guy was playing a pretty janky Esper control. Game 1 he's on the play. He goes land, go. I play a tapped Steam vents and pass. He plays Contaminated Ground on my Vents. I proceed to draw nothing but W/R Lands and double blue counter spells. Luckily he's really not doing much of anything. He plays 1 mana discard spells and Dimir Charms the top of my deck to keep me off blue. Eventually I get to my blue and play out my draw spells till I hit triple blue to drop an Aetherling gg.
Game 2
He plays a turn 1 Grafdigger's Cage. I have 2 snapcaster, Restoration Angel, Warleader's Helix, and and a think twice. My snaps are effectively Ambush Vipers now, so I just shift gears to play more aggressively. He eventually he hits a Mind Grind for 3 taking Dissipate, Sphinx's Rev, and Warleader's Helix. Topdeck an Aetherling and its gg.
Match 2 vs. Jund (2-0)
Game 1
Game 1 was a very epic battle. He plays a turn 3 Huntmaster which I have no answer to so I dissipate. Turn 4 he lands a Thragtusk. I draw turn and burn and at this point I have no counters I turn and burn it on his attack step. He lands a Garruk Primal Hunter. This thing is going to take over the game. I'm burning through my removal to try and get through to the Garruk, but he keeps ticking up. I drop a snap and and Angel, play out some more removal on the tokens. By the time the Garruk hits the magic 6, I manage to drop Aetherling. He decides to ultimate seeing Garruk's days are numbered. Had he drawn cards instead he probably would have won, but I wouldn't say he misplayed. He was basically saying if you don't have a verdict, I win. He took the gamble and lost, I had the verdict. Garruk is off the board and all the creatures are gone besides my Aetherling and a beast token off another of his thragtusks. I have a Sphinx's Rev in hand, things are looking great but then he drop Sire of Insanity. There go all my cards. I draw Restoration Angel, play it and do some Aetherling shenanigans. He has a Kessig Wolfrun in play. He swings in with the token and pumps. I trade for my angel. Aetherling and Sire + Wolfrun are left to go at it mano y mano I manage to squeeze out the win, even when he was at 30 some life and I was down to 16. At this point I was thoroughly impressed with how my deck played out
Game 2
He brings in pithing needle for my Aetherling. I don't remember much of the details of this game but by the end I have a ton of life, mana, and cards, and never see sire or garruk. I take the game with a vanilla Aetherling and a combination of angel beats and warleader helix's flashed back by snaps.
Match 3 vs. Aristocrats Act II (1-2)
Game 1
He's on the play, Turn 1 doomed traveler into turn 2 aristocrat into turn 3 Lingering souls. I'm basically throwing all my burn at him but he just sacs tokens. Turn 4 he flashes back souls and plays blood artist. gg
Game 2
Similar start but he has no Blood artist. I manage to Verdict away his board. He has a follow up Falkenrath Aristocrat. I take some damage but I'm able to stabilize with a war leader's Helix. He concedes to my sphinx's rev.
Game 3
I keep a hand of 3 buddy lands double pillar and double izzet staticaster. Amazing cards for the match up but the buddy lands are a very slow start. Its a risky keep but I'm on the draw, so I'm hoping I can draw a Shockland or he just might have a slow enough start that the hate cards can get through. He goes turn 1 Doomed traveler, I could really use a Red shock here! No such luck. play a tapped land and pass. He has turn 2 aristocrat. My pillars are now sorcery speed shocks. I try to pillar but he sacs. Play another tapped land and pass. Turn 3 Lingering souls. There's that amazing start again. I play a THIRD tapped land and attempt to pillar again, he sacs a token. He drops Intangible virtue, making it so I need both staticasters out to ping his tokens. I get stuck at 3 lands and I only get to play out 1 staticaster before I'm just dead.
Match 4 Intentional Draw
The standings worked out so that all the 2-1 players could agree to intentionally draw so we all make top 8.
Match 5 vs. Naya Midrange (0-2)
Game 1
Get stuck at 3 mana while he plays his value creatures like Thragtusk and Restoration angel bouncing Thragtusk.
Game 2
Open with a double Supreme Verdict hand and some card draw. Get stuck at 3 mana again somehow but I'm able to stave off his initial attacks. Eventually hit Supreme Verdict mana but he plays another Thragtusk and a mana dork. At this point he has a wolf run out, 3 cards in hand, I've drawn into a third Supreme Verdict, and my life total is pretty low so I verdict again. I'm finally at the point where I can stabilize but he drops a sire of insanity. I discard my hand and lose to a Sire + token.
Overall the deck performed okay, although I was very impressed with it in that jund match. Aristocrats was a tough match up for me and I lost match 5 to mana screw. That's how luck goes sometimes. What would you guys recommend for the Aristrocrats match up so i can tweak for next week?
Game 1
Guy was playing a pretty janky Esper control. Game 1 he's on the play. He goes land, go. I play a tapped Steam vents and pass. He plays Contaminated Ground on my Vents. I proceed to draw nothing but W/R Lands and double blue counter spells. Luckily he's really not doing much of anything. He plays 1 mana discard spells and Dimir Charms the top of my deck to keep me off blue. Eventually I get to my blue and play out my draw spells till I hit triple blue to drop an Aetherling gg.
Game 2
He plays a turn 1 Grafdigger's Cage. I have 2 snapcaster, Restoration Angel, Warleader's Helix, and and a think twice. My snaps are effectively Ambush Vipers now, so I just shift gears to play more aggressively. He eventually he hits a Mind Grind for 3 taking Dissipate, Sphinx's Rev, and Warleader's Helix. Topdeck an Aetherling and its gg.
Match 2 vs. Jund (2-0)
Game 1
Game 1 was a very epic battle. He plays a turn 3 Huntmaster which I have no answer to so I dissipate. Turn 4 he lands a Thragtusk. I draw turn and burn and at this point I have no counters I turn and burn it on his attack step. He lands a Garruk Primal Hunter. This thing is going to take over the game. I'm burning through my removal to try and get through to the Garruk, but he keeps ticking up. I drop a snap and and Angel, play out some more removal on the tokens. By the time the Garruk hits the magic 6, I manage to drop Aetherling. He decides to ultimate seeing Garruk's days are numbered. Had he drawn cards instead he probably would have won, but I wouldn't say he misplayed. He was basically saying if you don't have a verdict, I win. He took the gamble and lost, I had the verdict. Garruk is off the board and all the creatures are gone besides my Aetherling and a beast token off another of his thragtusks. I have a Sphinx's Rev in hand, things are looking great but then he drop Sire of Insanity. There go all my cards. I draw Restoration Angel, play it and do some Aetherling shenanigans. He has a Kessig Wolfrun in play. He swings in with the token and pumps. I trade for my angel. Aetherling and Sire + Wolfrun are left to go at it mano y mano I manage to squeeze out the win, even when he was at 30 some life and I was down to 16. At this point I was thoroughly impressed with how my deck played out
Game 2
He brings in pithing needle for my Aetherling. I don't remember much of the details of this game but by the end I have a ton of life, mana, and cards, and never see sire or garruk. I take the game with a vanilla Aetherling and a combination of angel beats and warleader helix's flashed back by snaps.
Match 3 vs. Aristocrats Act II (1-2)
Game 1
He's on the play, Turn 1 doomed traveler into turn 2 aristocrat into turn 3 Lingering souls. I'm basically throwing all my burn at him but he just sacs tokens. Turn 4 he flashes back souls and plays blood artist. gg
Game 2
Similar start but he has no Blood artist. I manage to Verdict away his board. He has a follow up Falkenrath Aristocrat. I take some damage but I'm able to stabilize with a war leader's Helix. He concedes to my sphinx's rev.
Game 3
I keep a hand of 3 buddy lands double pillar and double izzet staticaster. Amazing cards for the match up but the buddy lands are a very slow start. Its a risky keep but I'm on the draw, so I'm hoping I can draw a Shockland or he just might have a slow enough start that the hate cards can get through. He goes turn 1 Doomed traveler, I could really use a Red shock here! No such luck. play a tapped land and pass. He has turn 2 aristocrat. My pillars are now sorcery speed shocks. I try to pillar but he sacs. Play another tapped land and pass. Turn 3 Lingering souls. There's that amazing start again. I play a THIRD tapped land and attempt to pillar again, he sacs a token. He drops Intangible virtue, making it so I need both staticasters out to ping his tokens. I get stuck at 3 lands and I only get to play out 1 staticaster before I'm just dead.
Match 4 Intentional Draw
The standings worked out so that all the 2-1 players could agree to intentionally draw so we all make top 8.
Match 5 vs. Naya Midrange (0-2)
Game 1
Get stuck at 3 mana while he plays his value creatures like Thragtusk and Restoration angel bouncing Thragtusk.
Game 2
Open with a double Supreme Verdict hand and some card draw. Get stuck at 3 mana again somehow but I'm able to stave off his initial attacks. Eventually hit Supreme Verdict mana but he plays another Thragtusk and a mana dork. At this point he has a wolf run out, 3 cards in hand, I've drawn into a third Supreme Verdict, and my life total is pretty low so I verdict again. I'm finally at the point where I can stabilize but he drops a sire of insanity. I discard my hand and lose to a Sire + token.
Overall the deck performed okay, although I was very impressed with it in that jund match. Aristocrats was a tough match up for me and I lost match 5 to mana screw. That's how luck goes sometimes. What would you guys recommend for the Aristrocrats match up so i can tweak for next week?
Terminus and renounce the guilds have been good against aristocrats for me with renounce hitting both aristocrats as well as boros reckoner and terminus being another boardwipe and hopefully an early and cheap one
Threw this deck together on MTGO and began testing it in the Just for Fun room so I could get a feel for how the deck drew/mulliganed and how it typically played out. Ended up going 30-10 there and then moved to the Tournament Practice room. So far I'm 4-0 in matches there (haven't had time to do much testing there yet).
What I've noticed:
- The deck is increadibly resilient and can get itself out of almost any situation. No match-up or board-state is unwinnable for this deck.
- Aggro might as well fold to this deck; especially post sideboard.
- Aetherling and Assemble the Legion are probably the two best win conditions in Standard right now, and this deck plays both of them.
- Just about any hand is keepable thanks to Think Twice and Azorius Charm
Questions:
- How does Ral Zarek fit in with this deck? His +1 ability seems underwhelming at best. His -2 seems good, but I'm not sure it warrants him being in this deck. He seems to fit a U/R aggro/midrange deck better.
- For those of you using Niv-Mizzet: how long does he typically last? Is he worth having to spend additional cards to protect (whereas Aetherling has built in protection)?
This deck loses almost nothing with the loss of M13, and should still be well positioned after Innistrad Block rotates, which is one of the main advantage points for me. Looking forward to discussing the deck with you guys!
I feel w/ Voice of Resurgence being everywhere, 4 Pillar's are a must in the 75. I initially didn't use Assemble the Legion but with some recent testing it's just awesome and I like having it along w Aetherling as win-cons. Izzet Charm is nice for its diversity...And could be so valuable mid-late game to help you dig for your wincon. Cavern of Souls is huge against the control mirror. And 4 Geists in the SB has been amazing for me. Most players don't expect those Games 2 or 3 and they've won me games single-handedly because they often foil whatever sideboard plan my opponent puts in. Counterflux and Render Silent mostly for the control mirror to give some options.
I was playing a x1 Dramatic Rescue for a while, and it was pretty good, but decided to take it out in favor of a 3rd Pillar main. Warleader's Helix and Sphinx provide enough life gain.
This deck is awesome and can deal with just about anything your opponent throws at you. Jace, AoT is too good not to be a 2-of in this deck IMO.
I feel w/ Voice of Resurgence being everywhere, 4 Pillar's are a must in the 75. I initially didn't use Assemble the Legion but with some recent testing it's just awesome and I like having it along w Aetherling as win-cons. Izzet Charm is nice for its diversity...And could be so valuable mid-late game to help you dig for your wincon. Cavern of Souls is huge against the control mirror. And 4 Geists in the SB has been amazing for me. Most players don't expect those Games 2 or 3 and they've won me games single-handedly because they often foil whatever sideboard plan my opponent puts in. Counterflux and Render Silent mostly for the control mirror to give some options.
I was playing a x1 Dramatic Rescue for a while, and it was pretty good, but decided to take it out in favor of a 3rd Pillar main. Warleader's Helix and Sphinx provide enough life gain.
This deck is awesome and can deal with just about anything your opponent throws at you. Jace, AoT is too good not to be a 2-of in this deck IMO.
jace is really good but its hard for me to play without tamiyo
jace is really good but its hard for me to play without tamiyo
Tamiyo used to be in the main, but with my meta being largely fast aggro...she was just too slow in too many match ups.
I am struggling with finding the right amount of board sweepers. Supreme Verdict has been great for me and I feel 4 is mostly right, but with Naya gaining popularity, Boros Charm is something to be aware of.
And I am not sure the 1-of Terminus is worth it in the main. Maybe I just want 2 in the sideboard and play a singleton Mizzium Mortars instead. Mizzium can deal w/ Turn 2 threats...or give you a late game sweeper if needed. While Terminus seems to end up in my hand instead of Miracle more often than not (either by Sphinx's Rev, or turn 2 think twice w/ no mana up, etc). But it can be quite good in certain match-ups.
Tamiyo used to be in the main, but with my meta being largely fast aggro...she was just too slow in too many match ups.
I am struggling with finding the right amount of board sweepers. Supreme Verdict has been great for me and I feel 4 is mostly right, but with Naya gaining popularity, Boros Charm is something to be aware of.
And I am not sure the 1-of Terminus is worth it in the main. Maybe I just want 2 in the sideboard and play a singleton Mizzium Mortars instead. Mizzium can deal w/ Turn 2 threats...or give you a late game sweeper if needed. While Terminus seems to end up in my hand instead of Miracle more often than not (either by Sphinx's Rev, or turn 2 think twice w/ no mana up, etc). But it can be quite good in certain match-ups.
Any thoughts?
I use both 1 Terminus and 1 Mizzium Mortars in my deck. They're both good in different situations. Maybe cut the Izzet charm for the Mizzium mortars. I read something somewhere about Izzet charm that makes me not play it. The writer said, "the upside to Izzet charm is its versatility, but the down side is that none of the options are really relevant."
How has Geist been working in your sideboard? I've been debating whether to play control or tempo. Control is the deck doing better right now, but I love playing Geist. So I thought why not play control with Geist in the SB. What are the matchups you bring him in against? I'm guessing any slower decks like Reanimator, Mirror, etc..
I use both 1 Terminus and 1 Mizzium Mortars in my deck. They're both good in different situations. Maybe cut the Izzet charm for the Mizzium mortars. I read something somewhere about Izzet charm that makes me not play it. The writer said, "the upside to Izzet charm is its versatility, but the down side is that none of the options are really relevant."
How has Geist been working in your sideboard? I've been debating whether to play control or tempo. Control is the deck doing better right now, but I love playing Geist. So I thought why not play control with Geist in the SB. What are the matchups you bring him in against? I'm guessing any slower decks like Reanimator, Mirror, etc..
I like Izzet Charm...I do think it's pretty relevant...Your opponent taps out for a Garruk, or a Liliana, and Izzet Charm doesn't let it happen. If you don't draw Pillar, you can rid an early threat and when I played a SCG IQ a couple of weeks back I was playing a long grindy game and had loads of land but couldn't find my wincon...cast Izzet, draw 2, discard 2...oh, hello Aetherling. Would've taken me 2 more turns to get Aetherling...getting it early was pretty relevant to me.
With that said, Mizzium may be better.
My main struggle right now is Terminus main deck. Yes, it has its value, but Gerry Thompson made an excellent point about Ken Yeoh's UWR deck that won the Dallas Open, "One thing I dislike is the singleton Terminus, as I would never remember to miracle it. I'm not going to play an entire tournament slowly peeking at the top card of my deck hoping it's my one-of. Yes, there are more in the sideboard, but still." He has a point here in the fact that I have forgotten about Terminus in my deck, and will tap out on my opponent's turn for Think Twice or Azorius Charm...and hit Terminus w/ no mana open. Blah. And most of the time you won't need Terminus in the mid-late game so it becomes a dead card in your hand. Gah! I'm so conflicted because I have miracled it and it saved me big time.
I have 4 Geist's in the SB, but may go down to 3. The card has been very good for me. Typically, I will bring it in for Reanimator or a Control mirror...but depending on the opponent, I sometimes bring it in regardless. I played a Boros Aggro deck at that IQ and the guy was running tons of burn and big creatures (Aurelia, Thundermaw, Hellrider)...so I figured I could outrace him and draw enough counterspells by the time he drew his big guys. I lost game 1, but Geist single-handedly took games 2 and 3 (I was fortunate enough to draw him in my opening hand both games). He's also useful against Bant Auras (at least until July).
You make some good points about Terminus. I rarely want it in my opening hand, I'd almost always will want it to be supreme verdict, but I already play 4 verdicts so its not like I can cut terminus for another SV.
Here's my list if anyone is interested, still working on the SB.
2 finishers seems like it may be light you might lose some to them being buried but other than that it looks good.
Havent had too much trouble finding my win cons when i need them with all of the card draw in this deck. I like to think of Tamiyo as another Win Con. If she gets on the battlefield when you have board control, then it is fairly easy to ultimate her. Winning with infinite burn spells. Ill definitely test out another AEtherling to see if I like it better. Any idea what you'd take out?
So I went to our more "competitive" shop in town last night as they have a smaller Standard tourney on Tuesdays...
1 match loss was due to Obzedat and Resto/Geralf blinks ruining my life and I couldn't stop it quickly enough. Also Blood Artist can be tough to deal with if you don't have the removal in hand.
My other match loss was to a member of our group and his Gruul aggro...(I beat Gruul earlier in the evening) and I couldn't get more than 2 lands in both games...ugh...mulligans included. We proceeded to play 2 games for fun after the match and I crushed him...so mana screw happens...nothing to get too bent about.
I won my other 3 matches, one of which was against Bant Control. Game 1 was long and grindy (and quite fun) and Aetherling stole the show at the end (my opponent was running Loxodon's, Thragtusks, Angel of Serenity, Resto Angel) but I didn't see any Augur's or Snapcaster's which I thought was strange. So Game 2, I boarded in my playset of Geists and when I played one Turn 3 my opponent looked shocked and said "Ah...crap" ...he did not expect to see it and I won Game 2 in a much quicker fashion. *Side note* The x1 Cavern of Souls for Aetherling was crucial in this matchup.
My other Gruul opponent was suprised to see Assemble the Legion hit the board and it got out of hand pretty quickly Although this guy did have that new Maze card Ruric-Thar, the Unbowed and resolved it Game 2...he's a good card against us and I hope it doesn't get much love in people's sideboards. Luckily I had Verdict next turn...but spears and pillars and warleader's are no good against it. Detention Sphere/O-Ring are probably the best answers besides Verdict/Terminus (but you're still taking 6 damage regardless).
Jace, AoT was an all star yet again...can't say enough about the card.
The singleton Terminus was actually pretty good...got to miracle it a couple of times. Mixed feelings on Izzet Charm, it was excellent for me in a couple of games...and in other games it just sat in my hand. I boarded it out for Mizzium Mortars a couple of times but never drew it...I still like Izzet Charm for now...but that may change.
Contemplating going back 2 Jace AoT, but I went down to 1 and added a Ral Zarek but went up to a 4th Sphinx. If Ral doesn't work out I may go to a 3rd Reckonor/4th Supreme Verdict/3 Warleader's Helix or possibly back to a 2nd Jace. ****** Have recently done away with the Ral Zarek for a 2nd Aetherling and 1 Searing Spear for 1 Renounce the Guilds******
My Matchups Sideboarding Respectively
Reanimator:
Take out:
2 Snapcaster
2 Think Twice
2 Pillar of Flame
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Azorius Charm
Put in:
2 Rest in peace
2 Clone
1 Warleader's Helix
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Aurelia, The Warleader
1 Jace, Memory Adept**** Depends on their style of Reanimator
Esper/UWR/Grixis Control
Take out:
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Supreme Verdict
Depends on What I see
Put in:
2 Negate
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Aurelia, The Warleader/Warleader's Helix***
Bant Control:
Take out:
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Azorius Charm
2 Searing Spear
Put in:
2 Negate
1 Jace, The Memory Adept
2 Clone
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Warleader's Helix//Aurelia**** Depends on What I see
If they kill the Enchantment itself, it didn't really matter what I played, but I'd rather not have 2-3 of my win cons shut down by one card (at least until I draw a Sphere/Ring).
I will probably switch one Curse for an Assemble before tomorrow, though. I've loved Assemble since they spoiled it.
Yeah, if you feel a deaths hold coming just wait two turns, cast assemble on 7 mana then counter deaths hold? remember you're playing control not aggro or midrange. If you fear an answer or threat, just dont play the card until you have the means to protect it. With the amount of removal and boardwipes we have thats exactly what you want in games 2 and 3, if not 1.
UGQuirion DelverGU
RWUhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10209544My American Control PrimerUWR
EDH
UWRZedruu ShenanigansRWU
Sig by DarkKnightCavalier
Suppose I were to swap it out. What should replace it? An Assemble and what? I'd do a Memory Adept, but I don't have another one just yet.
you could always go with another board wipe or sphinx's rev or something like that. maybe a 4th snapcaster? Id just cut it for more consistency with a spell that you always find yourself looking for. For me, thats supreme verdict because i want it on turn 4 every game, and sometimes more than 1.
UGQuirion DelverGU
RWUhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10209544My American Control PrimerUWR
EDH
UWRZedruu ShenanigansRWU
Sig by DarkKnightCavalier
2-1 BWR Sire Midrange
Game one, we play some spells, but pretty much the only relevant thing was that he played 3 Sire of Insanities in a row, which pretty much won him the game. I almost came back, miracling Entreat for 5 angels, but he topdecked Bonfire to kill me before I could finish him off. Side out Dispel, side in Counterflux (mainboard is already really geared against midrange).
Game 2, miracled Entreat for 3 angels and had countermagic.
Game three was crazy. Eventually, I hardcast Entreat for 2 angels and beat him down with an angel before finishing him off with Warleader's Helix.
2-1 GR aggro
Game one, he crushes me. I don't think I played a relevant spell that entire 3 minutes. Side in 1x Dispel, 1x Terminus, 1x Aetherize, 2x Augur of Bolas. Side out 1x Rewind, 1x Dissipate, and my three planeswalkers.
Game two, he mana floods, which gives me plenty of time to stabilize after he gets me to 4.
Game three, he consistently topdecks his outs one turn too late after he gets me to 2. I stabilize and win on the back of Warleader's Helix and Aetherling.
2-0 Jund
Game 1, I counter basically all his relevant spells, I play Aetherling and I won.
Side out Dispel for Counterflux.
Game 2, pretty much game one except I use an Entreat for 4 to win.
1-2 4-Color Rites
Due to a technical issue, I got paired down and didn't notice until after the match.
Game 1, he got stuck on 3 lands. I play Tamiyo, tap down his relevant creatures, ult tamiyo with Rewind and Sphinx's Rev in hand. Side in 2x Purify the Grave, 1x Tormod's Crypt. Side out Dispel and Jace.
Game 2, I misplay and allow him to stick Sire of Insanity.
Game 3, I mull into a one lander, but I had Tormod's Crypt which stopped his early shenanigans. I was almost able to pull back into the game but he was able to play Angel of Serenity to kill my angel blockers and finish me off.
2-0 UWR Control
I got to play the mirror.^_^
Game one, my mainboard Dispel allowed me to resolve a Sphinx's rev for 3, which then allowed me to play Aetherling with protective mana up. Side in extra Dispel and Counterflux and 2x Pithing Needle in case he had Aetherling (he had played a Jace game one so I knew I had other targets I could hit if necessary). Side out Rapid Hybradization and my Verdicts.
Game 2, I rev for 4 and he didn't have a counterspell. I draw Aetherling + Dispel. gg.
0-2 4-Color Rites
Game 1, I misplay by playing an Aetherling with only two mana up. he plays a second boros Reckoner and casts Blasphemous Act to kill me. Side out Dispel, and Jace Side in Counterflux and Purify he Grave.
Game 2, I don't draw any counter magic, so when he played the B Act, I lost.
1-2 Naya Blitz
Game one, I keep a soft hand, and he killed me before I could properly react. Side in Detention Spheres, Aetherize, Terminus, and Augurs. Side out Dissipate, Dispel, Rewind, and planeswalkers.
Game 2, I almost misplayed out of this game, but I eventually stabilize behing Warleader's Helix and Sphinx's Rev.
Game 3, I almost stabilized, but I ws short on mana for the entire game while he had a Thalia on board. Eventually, I misplayed which allowed him to get me down to two. I didn't draw an out so I lost.
Overall, the deck did really well. Towards the end I think a lot of the losses were due to misplays. But, so it goes.
UGQuirion DelverGU
RWUhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10209544My American Control PrimerUWR
EDH
UWRZedruu ShenanigansRWU
Sig by DarkKnightCavalier
Mainboard:
3x Sphinx's Revelation
3x Warleader's Helix
3x Searing Spear
2x Pillar of Flame
3x Supreme Verdict
4x Azorius Charm
1x Niv-Mizzet Dracogenius
2x Turn//Burn
2x Jace, Architect of Thought
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Assemble the Legion
2x Dissipate
2x Syncopate
2x Think Twice
1x Terminus
1x Aetherling
1x Tamiyo the Moon Sage
3x Clifftop Retreat
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Sacred Foundry
4x Steam Vents
4x Sulfur Falls
1x Desolate Lighthouse
Everyone but me seems to netdeck the aggro/ midrange decks and I'm almost the only one with control. It has worked great for me....
They cant keep a creature on the board and its suddenly lategame with your last cards in hand being Sphinx's. Thats another thing. My deck was heavy with 3 Verdict and 1 Blasphemous Act, with 4 Searing Spear, 2 Detention Sphere...you did not keep stuff. 3 Boros Charm. Eff your planeswalkers.
Just imagine scenarios where you swing with Reckoner, they block with something big (like an Advent Wurm token) and you Boros Charm making him Indestructable. Throw the five in his face. End of his turn Harvest Pyre your Indestructable Super-Reckoner and put, what, 12-13 more to his face.
That sounds like an interesting combo of UWR midrange and the aristocrats with the combos it has. A little different than the draw-go strategies that the players piloting this deck type to big finishes have been trying, but it sounds interesting for sure
UGQuirion DelverGU
RWUhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10209544My American Control PrimerUWR
EDH
UWRZedruu ShenanigansRWU
Sig by DarkKnightCavalier
dont play boros reckoner hes too midrangey. on t3 ud rather just counter or remove their threat most times. id add jace and 1 more land and maybe another aetherling
UGQuirion DelverGU
RWUhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10209544My American Control PrimerUWR
EDH
UWRZedruu ShenanigansRWU
Sig by DarkKnightCavalier
This is a problem though because I have to take this deck to the PTQ in July (potentially) and I simply can't decide whether my results are good enough. Anyone else have this problem?
2 AEtherling
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Restoration Angel
3 Augur of Bolas
Instants/Sorcery
4 Turn // Burn
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Think Twice
1 Essence Scatter
2 Dissipate
1 Rewind
4 Azorius Charm
2 Warleader's Helix
2 Pillar of Flame
3 Sphinx's Revelation
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Glacial Fortress
1 Desolate Lighthouse
4 Clifftop Retreat
2 Island
1 Plains
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
3 Dispel
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Counterflux
1 Pillar of Flame
1 Clone
1 Negate
3 Izzet Staticaster
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Renounce the Guilds
1 Planar Cleansing
Match 1 vs. Esper Control (2-0)
Game 1
Guy was playing a pretty janky Esper control. Game 1 he's on the play. He goes land, go. I play a tapped Steam vents and pass. He plays Contaminated Ground on my Vents. I proceed to draw nothing but W/R Lands and double blue counter spells. Luckily he's really not doing much of anything. He plays 1 mana discard spells and Dimir Charms the top of my deck to keep me off blue. Eventually I get to my blue and play out my draw spells till I hit triple blue to drop an Aetherling gg.
Game 2
He plays a turn 1 Grafdigger's Cage. I have 2 snapcaster, Restoration Angel, Warleader's Helix, and and a think twice. My snaps are effectively Ambush Vipers now, so I just shift gears to play more aggressively. He eventually he hits a Mind Grind for 3 taking Dissipate, Sphinx's Rev, and Warleader's Helix. Topdeck an Aetherling and its gg.
Match 2 vs. Jund (2-0)
Game 1
Game 1 was a very epic battle. He plays a turn 3 Huntmaster which I have no answer to so I dissipate. Turn 4 he lands a Thragtusk. I draw turn and burn and at this point I have no counters I turn and burn it on his attack step. He lands a Garruk Primal Hunter. This thing is going to take over the game. I'm burning through my removal to try and get through to the Garruk, but he keeps ticking up. I drop a snap and and Angel, play out some more removal on the tokens. By the time the Garruk hits the magic 6, I manage to drop Aetherling. He decides to ultimate seeing Garruk's days are numbered. Had he drawn cards instead he probably would have won, but I wouldn't say he misplayed. He was basically saying if you don't have a verdict, I win. He took the gamble and lost, I had the verdict. Garruk is off the board and all the creatures are gone besides my Aetherling and a beast token off another of his thragtusks. I have a Sphinx's Rev in hand, things are looking great but then he drop Sire of Insanity. There go all my cards. I draw Restoration Angel, play it and do some Aetherling shenanigans. He has a Kessig Wolfrun in play. He swings in with the token and pumps. I trade for my angel. Aetherling and Sire + Wolfrun are left to go at it mano y mano I manage to squeeze out the win, even when he was at 30 some life and I was down to 16. At this point I was thoroughly impressed with how my deck played out
Game 2
He brings in pithing needle for my Aetherling. I don't remember much of the details of this game but by the end I have a ton of life, mana, and cards, and never see sire or garruk. I take the game with a vanilla Aetherling and a combination of angel beats and warleader helix's flashed back by snaps.
Match 3 vs. Aristocrats Act II (1-2)
Game 1
He's on the play, Turn 1 doomed traveler into turn 2 aristocrat into turn 3 Lingering souls. I'm basically throwing all my burn at him but he just sacs tokens. Turn 4 he flashes back souls and plays blood artist. gg
Game 2
Similar start but he has no Blood artist. I manage to Verdict away his board. He has a follow up Falkenrath Aristocrat. I take some damage but I'm able to stabilize with a war leader's Helix. He concedes to my sphinx's rev.
Game 3
I keep a hand of 3 buddy lands double pillar and double izzet staticaster. Amazing cards for the match up but the buddy lands are a very slow start. Its a risky keep but I'm on the draw, so I'm hoping I can draw a Shockland or he just might have a slow enough start that the hate cards can get through. He goes turn 1 Doomed traveler, I could really use a Red shock here! No such luck. play a tapped land and pass. He has turn 2 aristocrat. My pillars are now sorcery speed shocks. I try to pillar but he sacs. Play another tapped land and pass. Turn 3 Lingering souls. There's that amazing start again. I play a THIRD tapped land and attempt to pillar again, he sacs a token. He drops Intangible virtue, making it so I need both staticasters out to ping his tokens. I get stuck at 3 lands and I only get to play out 1 staticaster before I'm just dead.
Match 4 Intentional Draw
The standings worked out so that all the 2-1 players could agree to intentionally draw so we all make top 8.
Match 5 vs. Naya Midrange (0-2)
Game 1
Get stuck at 3 mana while he plays his value creatures like Thragtusk and Restoration angel bouncing Thragtusk.
Game 2
Open with a double Supreme Verdict hand and some card draw. Get stuck at 3 mana again somehow but I'm able to stave off his initial attacks. Eventually hit Supreme Verdict mana but he plays another Thragtusk and a mana dork. At this point he has a wolf run out, 3 cards in hand, I've drawn into a third Supreme Verdict, and my life total is pretty low so I verdict again. I'm finally at the point where I can stabilize but he drops a sire of insanity. I discard my hand and lose to a Sire + token.
Overall the deck performed okay, although I was very impressed with it in that jund match. Aristocrats was a tough match up for me and I lost match 5 to mana screw. That's how luck goes sometimes. What would you guys recommend for the Aristrocrats match up so i can tweak for next week?
Sig banner courtesy of Miraculous Recovery Signatures
Terminus and renounce the guilds have been good against aristocrats for me with renounce hitting both aristocrats as well as boros reckoner and terminus being another boardwipe and hopefully an early and cheap one
UGQuirion DelverGU
RWUhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10209544My American Control PrimerUWR
EDH
UWRZedruu ShenanigansRWU
Sig by DarkKnightCavalier
3x Snapcaster Mage
2x Aetherling
Sorceries
3x Supreme Verdict
1x Mizzium Mortars
Instants
3x Think Twice
3x Azorius charm
3x Syncopate
2x Warleader's Helix
2x Searing Spear
2x Dissipate
2x Turn//Burn
1x Essense Scatter
1x Rewind
1x Sphinx's Revelation
1x Tamio, the Moon Sage
1x Jace, Architect of Thought
Enchantments
2x Detention Sphere
1x Assemble the Legion
Lands
4x Steam Vents
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Sulfur Falls
2x Sacred Foundry
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Desolate Lighthouse
3x Island
3x Plains
3x Pillar of Flame
3x Terminus
2x Augur of Bolas
2x Rolling Temblor
2x Dispel
1x Turn//Burn
1x Negate
1x Jace, Memory Adept
I know I need to increase the Sphinx's Revelation by at least one more, and add a Cavern of Souls for the control match-up.
What I've noticed:
- The deck is increadibly resilient and can get itself out of almost any situation. No match-up or board-state is unwinnable for this deck.
- Aggro might as well fold to this deck; especially post sideboard.
- Aetherling and Assemble the Legion are probably the two best win conditions in Standard right now, and this deck plays both of them.
- Just about any hand is keepable thanks to Think Twice and Azorius Charm
Questions:
- How does Ral Zarek fit in with this deck? His +1 ability seems underwhelming at best. His -2 seems good, but I'm not sure it warrants him being in this deck. He seems to fit a U/R aggro/midrange deck better.
- For those of you using Niv-Mizzet: how long does he typically last? Is he worth having to spend additional cards to protect (whereas Aetherling has built in protection)?
This deck loses almost nothing with the loss of M13, and should still be well positioned after Innistrad Block rotates, which is one of the main advantage points for me. Looking forward to discussing the deck with you guys!
American Control:
x2 Aetherling
x2 Snapcaster Mage
x2 Jace, Architect of Thought
x1 Assemble the Legion
x3 Azorius Charm
x1 Detention Sphere
x2 Dissipate
x1 Izzet Charm
x3 Pillar of Flame
x2 Searing Spear
x3 Sphinx's Revelation
x4 Supreme Verdict
x2 Syncopate
x1 Terminus
x3 Think Twice
x1 Turn // Burn
x2 Warleader's Helix
25 Lands (shocks, duals, x1 Cavern of Souls)
Sideboard:
x1 Counterflux
x1 Electrickery
x4 Geist of Saint Traft
x1 Oblivion Ring
x1 Pillar of Flame
x1 Render Silent
x2 Renounce the Guilds
x2 Rest in Peace
x1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
x1 Terminus
I feel w/ Voice of Resurgence being everywhere, 4 Pillar's are a must in the 75. I initially didn't use Assemble the Legion but with some recent testing it's just awesome and I like having it along w Aetherling as win-cons. Izzet Charm is nice for its diversity...And could be so valuable mid-late game to help you dig for your wincon. Cavern of Souls is huge against the control mirror. And 4 Geists in the SB has been amazing for me. Most players don't expect those Games 2 or 3 and they've won me games single-handedly because they often foil whatever sideboard plan my opponent puts in. Counterflux and Render Silent mostly for the control mirror to give some options.
I was playing a x1 Dramatic Rescue for a while, and it was pretty good, but decided to take it out in favor of a 3rd Pillar main. Warleader's Helix and Sphinx provide enough life gain.
This deck is awesome and can deal with just about anything your opponent throws at you. Jace, AoT is too good not to be a 2-of in this deck IMO.
jace is really good but its hard for me to play without tamiyo
UGQuirion DelverGU
RWUhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10209544My American Control PrimerUWR
EDH
UWRZedruu ShenanigansRWU
Sig by DarkKnightCavalier
Tamiyo used to be in the main, but with my meta being largely fast aggro...she was just too slow in too many match ups.
I am struggling with finding the right amount of board sweepers. Supreme Verdict has been great for me and I feel 4 is mostly right, but with Naya gaining popularity, Boros Charm is something to be aware of.
And I am not sure the 1-of Terminus is worth it in the main. Maybe I just want 2 in the sideboard and play a singleton Mizzium Mortars instead. Mizzium can deal w/ Turn 2 threats...or give you a late game sweeper if needed. While Terminus seems to end up in my hand instead of Miracle more often than not (either by Sphinx's Rev, or turn 2 think twice w/ no mana up, etc). But it can be quite good in certain match-ups.
Any thoughts?
I use both 1 Terminus and 1 Mizzium Mortars in my deck. They're both good in different situations. Maybe cut the Izzet charm for the Mizzium mortars. I read something somewhere about Izzet charm that makes me not play it. The writer said, "the upside to Izzet charm is its versatility, but the down side is that none of the options are really relevant."
How has Geist been working in your sideboard? I've been debating whether to play control or tempo. Control is the deck doing better right now, but I love playing Geist. So I thought why not play control with Geist in the SB. What are the matchups you bring him in against? I'm guessing any slower decks like Reanimator, Mirror, etc..
I like Izzet Charm...I do think it's pretty relevant...Your opponent taps out for a Garruk, or a Liliana, and Izzet Charm doesn't let it happen. If you don't draw Pillar, you can rid an early threat and when I played a SCG IQ a couple of weeks back I was playing a long grindy game and had loads of land but couldn't find my wincon...cast Izzet, draw 2, discard 2...oh, hello Aetherling. Would've taken me 2 more turns to get Aetherling...getting it early was pretty relevant to me.
With that said, Mizzium may be better.
My main struggle right now is Terminus main deck. Yes, it has its value, but Gerry Thompson made an excellent point about Ken Yeoh's UWR deck that won the Dallas Open, "One thing I dislike is the singleton Terminus, as I would never remember to miracle it. I'm not going to play an entire tournament slowly peeking at the top card of my deck hoping it's my one-of. Yes, there are more in the sideboard, but still." He has a point here in the fact that I have forgotten about Terminus in my deck, and will tap out on my opponent's turn for Think Twice or Azorius Charm...and hit Terminus w/ no mana open. Blah. And most of the time you won't need Terminus in the mid-late game so it becomes a dead card in your hand. Gah! I'm so conflicted because I have miracled it and it saved me big time.
I have 4 Geist's in the SB, but may go down to 3. The card has been very good for me. Typically, I will bring it in for Reanimator or a Control mirror...but depending on the opponent, I sometimes bring it in regardless. I played a Boros Aggro deck at that IQ and the guy was running tons of burn and big creatures (Aurelia, Thundermaw, Hellrider)...so I figured I could outrace him and draw enough counterspells by the time he drew his big guys. I lost game 1, but Geist single-handedly took games 2 and 3 (I was fortunate enough to draw him in my opening hand both games). He's also useful against Bant Auras (at least until July).
Here's my list if anyone is interested, still working on the SB.
1 AEtherling
2 Snapcaster Mage
SPELLS:
1 Assemble The Legion
3 Azorius Charm
1 Detention Sphere
2 Dissipate
1 Mizzium Mortars
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Searing Spear
3 Sphinx's Revelation
4 Supreme Verdict
2 Syncopate
1 Terminus
3 Think Twice
2 Turn//Burn
2 Warleader's Helix
1 Tamiyo, The Moon Sage
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
UGQuirion DelverGU
RWUhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10209544My American Control PrimerUWR
EDH
UWRZedruu ShenanigansRWU
Sig by DarkKnightCavalier
Havent had too much trouble finding my win cons when i need them with all of the card draw in this deck. I like to think of Tamiyo as another Win Con. If she gets on the battlefield when you have board control, then it is fairly easy to ultimate her. Winning with infinite burn spells. Ill definitely test out another AEtherling to see if I like it better. Any idea what you'd take out?
1 match loss was due to Obzedat and Resto/Geralf blinks ruining my life and I couldn't stop it quickly enough. Also Blood Artist can be tough to deal with if you don't have the removal in hand.
My other match loss was to a member of our group and his Gruul aggro...(I beat Gruul earlier in the evening) and I couldn't get more than 2 lands in both games...ugh...mulligans included. We proceeded to play 2 games for fun after the match and I crushed him...so mana screw happens...nothing to get too bent about.
I won my other 3 matches, one of which was against Bant Control. Game 1 was long and grindy (and quite fun) and Aetherling stole the show at the end (my opponent was running Loxodon's, Thragtusks, Angel of Serenity, Resto Angel) but I didn't see any Augur's or Snapcaster's which I thought was strange. So Game 2, I boarded in my playset of Geists and when I played one Turn 3 my opponent looked shocked and said "Ah...crap" ...he did not expect to see it and I won Game 2 in a much quicker fashion. *Side note* The x1 Cavern of Souls for Aetherling was crucial in this matchup.
My other Gruul opponent was suprised to see Assemble the Legion hit the board and it got out of hand pretty quickly Although this guy did have that new Maze card Ruric-Thar, the Unbowed and resolved it Game 2...he's a good card against us and I hope it doesn't get much love in people's sideboards. Luckily I had Verdict next turn...but spears and pillars and warleader's are no good against it. Detention Sphere/O-Ring are probably the best answers besides Verdict/Terminus (but you're still taking 6 damage regardless).
Jace, AoT was an all star yet again...can't say enough about the card.
The singleton Terminus was actually pretty good...got to miracle it a couple of times. Mixed feelings on Izzet Charm, it was excellent for me in a couple of games...and in other games it just sat in my hand. I boarded it out for Mizzium Mortars a couple of times but never drew it...I still like Izzet Charm for now...but that may change.
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Sulfur Falls
4 Steam Vents
3 Clifftop Retreat
3 Sacred Foundry
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Desolate Lighthouse
Creature:
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Boros Reckoner
2 Aetherling
3 Azorius Charm
2 Syncopate
2 Turn // Burn
2 Warleader's Helix
4 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Dissipate
1 Searing Spear
3 Think Twice
1 Renounce The Guilds
Sorcery:
3 Pillar of Flame
3 Supreme Verdict
Planeswalkers:
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
2 Negate
2 Rest in Peace
1 Pillar of Flame
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Jace, The Memory Adept
2 Clone
1 Warleader's Helix
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Aurelia, The Warleader
1 Renounce The Guilds
Contemplating going back 2 Jace AoT, but I went down to 1 and added a Ral Zarek but went up to a 4th Sphinx. If Ral doesn't work out I may go to a 3rd Reckonor/4th Supreme Verdict/3 Warleader's Helix or possibly back to a 2nd Jace. ****** Have recently done away with the Ral Zarek for a 2nd Aetherling and 1 Searing Spear for 1 Renounce the Guilds******
My Matchups Sideboarding Respectively
Reanimator:
Take out:
2 Snapcaster
2 Think Twice
2 Pillar of Flame
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Azorius Charm
Put in:
2 Rest in peace
2 Clone
1 Warleader's Helix
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Aurelia, The Warleader
1 Jace, Memory Adept**** Depends on their style of Reanimator
Esper/UWR/Grixis Control
Take out:
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Supreme Verdict
Depends on What I see
Put in:
2 Negate
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Aurelia, The Warleader/Warleader's Helix***
Bant Control:
Take out:
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Azorius Charm
2 Searing Spear
Put in:
2 Negate
1 Jace, The Memory Adept
2 Clone
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Warleader's Helix//Aurelia**** Depends on What I see
Junk Aristocrats:
Take out:
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Searing Spear
2 Think Twice
Put in:
2 Rest in Peace
1 Pillar of Flame
2 Izzet Staticcaster
1 Renounce The Guilds
Aggro:
Take out:
1 Tamiyo, The Moonsage
1 Sphinx's Revelation
Put in:
1 Pillar of Flame
1 Warleader's Helix
2 Clone*** Depends if it's a midrangey Naya Aggro deck
Bant Hexproof:
Take out:
1 Tamiyo, The Moonsage
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Searing Spear
1 Azorius Charm
Put in:
2 Clones
1 Warleader's Helix
1 Renounce The Guilds
1/2 Rest in Peace **** Depends on if it's a Voice heavy Hexproof.